Judge sets bail at $200,000 for former puppy mill boss

A Honolulu district judge on Monday doubled to $200,000 the bail for the former manager of a now-defunct Waimanalo puppy millbecause of the possibility that he might flee the state for a second time.

In arguing for the increased bail, city Deputy Prosecutor Jan Futa saidDavid Lee Becker, 37, left Hawaii in May 2011 before he could be served with 153 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

Becker was extradited from Las Vegas on Friday to face the charges.

His arraignment and plea hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Kaneohe District Court.

At a bail hearing Monday, Futa told District Judge Fay Koyanagi that Becker’s $100,000 bail should be doubled because he is "already a known flight risk."

Becker was charged May 26, 2011, but left the state before he was served with the criminal complaint.

"He knew he was wanted, but he did not come back," Futa told the judge.

Futa said that if convicted of the 153 misdemeanors, Becker could fined as much as $306,000 and spend as much as a year in jail.

Becker, dressed in a dark T-shirt and shorts, told the judge that he was always planning to come back and face the charges and had hired a local attorney.

Koyanagi granted the prosecution’s bail request but told Becker that he could seek a reduction of bail later.

After the hearing, Futa said it was the first time she had heard Becker say that he had hired a local attorney and was willing to come back to court.

Becker was detained June 8 in Las Vegas after the HawaiianHumane Society notified the city prosecutor’s office of his whereabouts, and a special governor’s warrant for his arrest was obtained.

The complaint details some of the filthy conditions the animals were kept in at the Waimanalo breeding facility owned by Bradley International.

On Feb. 28, 2011,the Hawaiian Humane Society and police seized the dogs after police received two complaints: one involving a barking dog and another involving a woman who was allegedly trespassing with five dogs.

A year later, Bradley International, now a defunct company, was sentenced in Kaneohe District Court after its officials pleaded no contest in December to 153 counts of animal cruelty stemming from the discovery of emaciated dogs at the Waimanalo facility.

The company was ordered to pay $370,701 in restitution to the Humane Society for the recovery of 153 dogs, a $2,000 fine for each count of animal cruelty, totaling $306,000, and $8,415 in court fees. But because the company has gone out of business, none of the fines or restitution will be paid.